Other Contributions

Nature Notes

Amphibia: multiplicata. Size. The distribution of G. multiplicata extends from southeastern Guatemala to western Panama, on the Atlantic versant, and on the Pacific versant from northwestern Costa Rica to western Panama, at el- evations from sea level to 1,400 m (McCranie and Wilson, 2002). Wake (1988) provided a definition and diagnosis for the genus Gymnopis, which then was considered monotypic, and indicated the maximum total length (TOL) as “to 500 mm” (= 50 cm). Savage (2002) reported the maximum TOL of G. multiplicata as “to 480 mm” (= 48 cm). The longest specimen presently in the museum collection at the University of Costa Rica (UCR 17096) measures 47.4 cm. Róger Blanco, the research coordinator of Área de Conservación Guanacaste, informed me that at Sector Santa Rosa, Provincia de Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the rainfall recorded A during the rainy season of 2010 (2,819.3 mm) was more than twice the amount that fell the pre- vious year. A portion of the park’s administrative area remained flooded throughout much of the rainy season, which made the soil softer than usual, and under these condi- tions on 21 November 2010, Johan Vargas and Roberto Espinoza col- lected a very large G. multiplicata (Figs. 1A, Fig. 1. (A) The large B B). The individual mea- Gymnopis mexicanus sured 56 cm in TOL and found in Sector 6 cm in circumference at Santa Rosa on 25 midbody. Because of its November 2010; and possible record length, (B) a close-up of the the was main- anterior portion of its body. tained for study and ' placed in a terrarium, but © Johan Vargas several days later it es- caped and was not seen again.

Mesoamerican Herpetology 281 December 2014 | Volume 1 | Number 2 Other Contributions Nature Notes

On 29 October 2014, an even longer individual of G. multiplicata was found at Río Oro de Santa Ana, Provincia de San José, Costa Rica (Figs. 2A, B,). Although the exact total length was difficult to determine because the caeci- lian constantly kept expanding and contracting different parts of its body, a conservative estimate is that the measures at least 70 cm in TOL, by far the longest known individual of this species. Other measurements and the weight of the animal are as follows: diameter at midbody = 2.8 cm; circumference at midbody = 10.5 cm; and weight = 334.1 g. The individual is being maintained alive, but will be deposited at the UCR collection upon its death.

A

B

Fig. 2. (A) The record-length Gymnopis mexicanus recently found at Río Oro de Santa Ana, Provincia de San José, Costa Rica, held so as to provide a perspective on its length; and (B) a dorsal body view of the animal. ' © Alejandro Solórzano

Acknowledgments.––I thank Róger Blanco, María Marta Chavarría, Felipe Chavarría, Daniel H. Janzen, Johan Vargas, and Roberto Espinoza for their help in providing the information for the caecilian found at Sector Santa Rosa, and Francisco Castro for his assistance with logistics associated with the second caecilian.

Literature Cited

McCranie, J. R., and L. D. Wilson. 2002. The Seas. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, United of . Contributions to Herpetology, Volume 19, States. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, Wake, M. H. 1988. Gymnopis, G. multiplicata. Catalogue of New York, United States. American Amphibians and Reptiles 411: 1–2. Savage, J. M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two

Alejandro Solórzano Research Associate, Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, Costa Rica. E-mail: [email protected]

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